Outside, inside then outside again.

Working at a client business recently, we were talking about the swing that happens through the IN and OUT door. First it’s ‘we need consultants’, then it’s ‘we’re spending too much on consultants… we need to bring these services in-house’ and then it swings back to ‘we need consultants working on this’.

Have you noticed how the pendulum or swing does indeed swing? Sometimes a team gains support, insight and advice from external sources. It adds to their learning, broadens exposure to information and likely helps them get sh*t done more rapidly.

But then someone queries the cost and wonders about the value received. ‘We can’t be spending THAT much on those consultants!’ Next thing, the recruitment ads go live and the company is now recruiting for a range of in-house roles.

Have you noticed how team composition changes - from engaging consultants and external providers and then the shift to having people full time on the team … and back again?

Have you gone through the IN or the OUT door recently? 

Flogging a dead idea...

Seth Godin says 'ideas that spread win'. If your ideas aren’t spreading as you’d like, well... maybe they’re dead.

Are you flogging a dead idea?

Leaders bringing change to their teams; I wonder, how much is old stuff, old information or old ideas repackaged? Did the ’Save as’ button get a workout when you changed the date from last year or 5 years ago, and put the same information out there? Sam Trattles, an expert in negotiation gave me A+ advice for a high value gig: a goal of the process was to not repeat any of my information. Sam says people tune out, they’re done with it, they’ve heard it before and don’t hear it again.

We must find new ways to communicate, ways that re-connect, re-inspire, re-engage, not just revisit or reuse. As a consultant or expert, are you still trying to sell the same thing?

A colleague recently said if she just got more customers everything would improve for her. But this isn’t the only way to growth.

Getting more customers to know about your dead idea won’t do much for you. Our ideas need to evolve and adapt, as do we, or we’re just flogging a dead idea. How are you adapting your ideas?

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